Disney has been marketing the trailers for “Brother Bear” for many months now, with the humorous joking of two Canadian Moose (voiced in the characters of those two hose-heads from the classic 80’s SCTV-skit Bob & Doug McKenzie, Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) being the focal point of the campaign. There is, of course, a message to the film as well which is even relayed in the trailer, but ask anyone who hasn’t seen the film and I’m willing to bet they’ll say they remember the moose jokes. On the flip side, ask anyone who has seen the film, and I’m willing to bet they’ll say that the more memorable scenes of the film involve moose jokes as well. Not to say the “Brother Bear” is not an enjoyable film in itself, but as a whole it doesn’t even reach the same level as last year’s “Lilo & Stitch.” Instead, it’s as if Disney took a half step backwards in story, animation, and, most particularly, song.

Where the latest generation of Disney films usually excel is in their ability to fit song to screen with memorable and enjoyable musical interludes. Trying to draw from songwriter Phil Collins’ successful songs for 1999’s “Tarzan,” Disney again gives him lead reigns over the soundtrack for “Brother Bear.” Unfortunately, the songs come off as being very banal, with the exception of “On My Way,” which is somewhat catchy (and I use that term loosely) during a “travel” sequence of the film. Even a track from the great Tina Turner is bland and uninspiring, vocalizing the scenes that are on the screen almost verbatim. There are definitely more ‘misses’ than ‘hits’ in the tune department.

As for the story, it is enjoyable with an underlying message, and the way in which it’s relayed is nicely done, but instead of an 85 minute film, it may have been easier to cart out Smoky the Bear and the Hanson brothers to say “Hey kids, be kind to animals and your brothers.” Instead, the film is set “in the time of the mammoths,” and centers on Kenai (voiced by Juaquin Phoenix), the youngest of three Native American brothers; Sitka (D.B. Sweeny) being the oldest, and Denahi (Jason Raize), the middle brother. The parents are suspiciously absent, and as is commonplace in almost all Disney films, one of Kenai’s family members are killed, this time by a bear. Against the wishes of the tribe’s priestess Tanana, who warns him not to upset the great spirits, Kenai sets off to avenge the death and track down the bear on his own. Of course, this does upsets said spirits, and since spirits are all knowing as to what is going to happen, they transform Kenai into a bear so that he can learn what it means to have compassion and love for animals and family.

Thus begins Kenai’s adventure to be transformed back into a human, and his encounters along side a young bear cub named (as all kids know and will chant along in the audience…) “…say it with me: Ko-da.” Koda is Kenai’s voice of reason throughout the journey, and eventually comes to be like a little brother. This is something Kenai was lacking: someone to be a role model to, as his older brothers were role models to him.

As he makes his trek, along with other woodland creatures, Kenai meets the aforementioned Moose brothers Rutt & Tuke, which pop up at comic relief intervals throughout the film. The sporadic insertions of their conversations were perfectly timed and humorous, and thankfully did not exceed their time limit to where it became annoying. This was a nice touch for the adults who remember (and enjoyed) the McKenzie brothers, but somehow I see a Disney marketer getting ready to give these characters their own spin off. I’m sure this isn’t the last time we’ll hear about these two, and are definitely the highlight of the story.

Simply put, the film is unremarkable in both its appearance and story. Will children enjoy the animals and humor? Sure it’s “cute,” and it should keep their attention spans for a while, but they won’t come out of the film wanting to see it over and over again. As for the adults, the dialogue is very generic, the songs are incredibly sub-par, and the animation itself is on track with Disney’s other recently weak effort, 2001’s “Atlantis.” Admittedly, “Brother Bear” is targeted at a younger market, but it still misses its mark in paving any new ground in all aspects. With traditional animation trying to keep its foothold in the marketplace, in the end, “Brother Bear” unfortunately doesn’t evolve into a shining endorsement of its decaying species.